At 11:55 AM 9/11/97 -0700, you wrote: >On a perfboard prototype I'm working on, I'm having startup problems. Of >my bag of 16C74A/JW chips, only one or two of them like to work. If I put >in a real low-speed crystal instead of the 20MHz it's supposed to run at, >I can sometimes coax it to run. Are the configuration word bits 1 and 0 set to '10' for HS oscillator mode? >Putting a scope on the crystal pins verifies that the oscillator is >running, but I suspect it's burping or slow getting up to speed or >something. What size capacitors do you have from the crystal leads to ground? The oscillator may be starting only when your probe capacitance is added to the circuit. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lynn Richardson - Design Eng.|WA0ZNL |Progress Instruments, Inc. DC - 1GHz, RX, TX 100W, PLL |WA0ZNL.AMPR.ORG |807 NW Commerce Drive ASM 6805, 8051, Z8, PIC |44.46.176.3 |Lee's Summit, MO 64086 C |lrich@proginst.com|P(816)524-4442 F 246-4556